By 9:30 a.m. Friday, Santa was in his green chair at Yorktown Center and three sisters, surrounded by shopping bags, were taking a break before heading to the next mall.

Patricia Baker, 54, of Maywood, Donna Holliday, 48, of Bellwood, and Carolyn Baker, 56, of Lombard, and their daughters had been at the Lombard mall since 4 a.m. and were refueling with orange juice.

"My income has become more secure," said Carolyn Baker, a nurse. "The fear has died down. My work hours are more steady."

She plans to spend a couple of thousand dollars more this year, including a new stove she bought for herself.

The National Retail Federation predicted that shoppers would spend about $586 billion this holiday season, 4.1 percent more than last year. The retailing trade group also predicted that 147 million people would shop Friday through Sunday. That compares with 152 million shoppers during the same period last year.

Preliminary reports Friday indicated that shopping levels were "decent, but not eye opening," according to retail analyst Ken Perkins of Retail Metrics Inc. That's because discounts this year were good but not substantially deeper than last year, Perkins said.

More shoppers were expected to avoid lines and crowds this year and buy from home. Door-busters and deep discounts in many cases were available online days before Black Friday. Some merchants launched Black Friday-like deals nearly a week ahead of time.

Online shopping on Thanksgiving Day rose almost 18 percent this year, according to IBM. Visits to online retail sites were up 16 percent Wednesday, according to Web tracking firm Hitwise.

Retailers said the decision to open earlier than ever — at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving for Sears, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us — played out well.

"Customers want more flexibility in how they buy," said Ron Boire, executive vice president and chief merchandising officer at Sears Holdings Corp. "We're seeing a shift in how they are thinking about shopping for the holidays."

The early opening meant that shoppers lingered in other departments, shopping for more than door-busters, Boire added.

Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said shopping on Thanksgiving will become a holiday tradition like pumpkin pie and football.

Thursday night openings brought out more people, including children, grandparents and more men, according to Ben Arnold, director of industry analysis at research firm NPD Group.

"These earlier openings appeal to a wider array of shoppers, and that universe of potential buyers has grown," he said.

Troy Rice, executive vice president at Toys R Us, said he saw more children in the store, showing their parents exactly what was on their wish lists. "That was a huge shift from what we saw when we first opened at midnight or even our 10 p.m. opening (last year)," he said.

But the question remains whether the early openings will generate higher profits. Wal-Mart said 22 million people shopped from 8 p.m. to midnight, accounting for 11 million transactions.

Rivals Target and Sears didn't release any figures but said that opening at 8 p.m. helped them do well not only in consumer electronics, but in apparel, footwear and housewares.

Instead of heading out for an after-dinner spending spree Thursday, some shoppers opted for the traditional shopping Friday morning.

Along Chicago's North Michigan Avenue, Craig Lightfoot and John Livingston III, of Melbourne, Australia, began shopping at 9 a.m.

"We're chasing bags for the wives," said Lightfoot, who said he plans to spend more money on gifts this year. "The kids are getting older and I'm spending more," he said.

Livingston, who'd picked up handbags for his daughter at Barney's, said the family's shopping budget is out of his hands.

Several people who roamed Yorktown as early as 4 a.m. refused to give in to retailers who opened their doors Thursday evening.